All I Need
by SlytherinDemigod13
Summary: Our home. It was destroyed. We're on our own, out in the world, doing the best we can. Each and everyone one of us. Those who survived. And we're running from something else. AU. Percy and Nico are best friends. A hint of Solangelo and one sided Percico later.
1. Chapter 1

Percy Jackson liked to think he had an okay life.

Even if it sucked sometimes.

He knew there were kids who had it worse all over the world. Kids who went to bed hungry every night. Kids didn't have any parents at all. Kids who only had themselves for protection and support.

Percy liked to think he had a lot to be thankful for. He had a wonderful mother, a caring best friend, and a place to call home.

Sometimes, the good things in his life made him forget the bad. The father he knew next to nothing about. The endless abuse from Gabe.

But Percy tried not to think about the bad things. He had always hoped that in the long run, none of them would matter.

AaAaAaAaAa

The only major way that Nico di Angelo's life was similar to his friend's was because of his father. The father he didn't know, the father who didn't care about him. In return, Nico only thought it fair that he didn't care about his father, either.

He wanted nothing to do with the pathetic excuse for a man, whoever he was.

He had a mother and a sister who loved him, and a best friend who stuck by him through anything. Even if a best friend was the only friend he had.

And it was all he needed.

AaAaAaAaAa

"Nico, explain to me again how the Poseidon card works," 11-year old Percy said, slightly amused by how much his friend loved the card game.

Nico launched into an extremely descriptive explanation of the card, stating its strengths, weaknesses, and point value.

"You gotta find a new hobby," Percy said after he was finished.

Nico sighed, changing the subject. "I'm screwed for this math test, you?"

"Oh, yeah." Percy replied. "I'll fail for sure. Nothing new, really..."

"Mr. Burton told me I may get held back a year if I don't stop trying harder. He just doesn't get it."

Percy knew exactly what his friend was talking about. Their dyslexia made school a lot harder than it should've been. He looked around the classroom he was currently seated in. So many posters on the wall, textbooks, and notes scribbled on the board that he had a very hard time deciphering.

Suddenly, the door burst open, producing a tall and skinny middle aged man with black hair and glasses. Mr. Burton was here. Great.

"So the sub left a particularly bad note about your behavior yesterday," the man said as he took a seat behind his desk. "And I must say, I am not happy."

The class groaned, causing Mr. Burton to shush them. He went on and on about how proper respect was in order whenever you were with adults, and how they had given the class a terrible reputation the previous day.

Naturally, Percy and Nico stopped listening five seconds in. Instead, they both found themselves lost in their own thoughts.

Percy was thinking about his mom. It was Friday, and his mom always took him to eat at his favorite Italian restaurant after school that day. Even though they did it every week, it never got old. It was time with his mom, and time away from his step father.

Nico's attention, however, was on someone else in the room. It was the last person he would ever expect himself to be paying attention to, even under bizarre circumstances. However, he suddenly found himself intrigued by what Cindy Berkley, the most popular girl in school, was doing. She was not listening to the teacher lecture either. Instead, she was maliciously gnawing on her perfect blonde hair, while furiously scribbling something down on a piece of notebook paper. Her eyes seemed to be blazing a violent red, much different from their usual hazel color. It was so unnatural, Nico figured he must have been dreaming.

But the strangest thing was, no one seemed to notice. Except him.

Around her, her popular friends were all muttering apologies to the teacher, claiming they had been perfect angels while he was gone. Nico knew if what Cindy was doing had something to do with drama, her friends would all be gossiping away at the moment.

Nico tapped Percy on the shoulder, pulling him out of whatever he was thinking about. He quickly gestured to Cindy.

Percy stared at her for a second, before turning to Nico with a confused expression on his face.

It just didn't make any sense.

AaAaAaAaAa

When Percy arrived home, he was glad to see that Smelly Gabe wasn't there. He was not thrilled, however, to arrive to his mother's absence as well.

Percy stopped to think for a moment. His mom was off work on Friday, and it was rare for him to come home to nobody. It was possible that they had went somewhere, but Percy figured his mother would have let him know, not just left randomly.

And the door had been unlocked when he had gotten there. His mom wouldn't have just left the apartment vulnerable like that.

Suddenly, his thoughts turned to Cindy Berkley, and her odd behavior hours before. He didn't know why, but thinking of her filled him with an unexplainable chill.

Something wasn't right.

AaAaAaAaAa

"Mom? Bianca?"

Eleven-year-old Nico wasn't used to being home alone. His mom said he wasn't old enough, and he was always used to coming home from school to find his mother and Bianca watching television. But today was different.

Today, he hadn't been able to get the image of the girl from his mind, despite his greatest efforts.

Today, he would seriously question his views on what he thought didn't matter.

Today, his life would change.

 **How was that? This chapter was probably quite slow, but it will get better as the story progresses. Please review and tell me what you think. Constructive criticism is very welcome.**


	2. Chapter 2

_Knock_.

Percy's head quickly turned towards the door.

 _Knock_.

Now the window.

 _Knock_.

Now from inside the ceiling?

It wasn't just a small little tap, it was strong and firm. Full of authority. It wasn't just a minuscule sound you sometimes heard in the middle of the night when everyone else was sleeping, it was somebody. Somebody begging for attention.

And it was coming from three places.

 _How_?

The knocks at the door were the loudest, the most terrifying. They got more powerful every second. With each knock Percy felt himself growing more and more horrified, full of anticipation as to who was here and what was happening.

The ones at the window and in the ceiling sounded just like normal knocks, just mysterious. He couldn't see anybody out the window, but he felt like he was being watched from outside, like invisible eyes were observing his every move. Someone, or something, wanted him.

He tried to do something. Ask simple questions. _Who's there? What do you want?_ But he found himself unable to speak.

Suddenly, the knocking stopped. Everything was suddenly calm, as it had been before.

Except it wasn't. It wasn't right. He thought of Cindy, his mom, and now the knocking. For obvious reasons, today was an odd day.

His fear suddenly changed to curiosity. He wanted to know what was going on.

Slowly, he walked towards the door.

AaAaAaAaAa

The door creaked open, revealing an extremely skinny police officer with brown, graying hair. Percy frowned. He hadn't known what exactly to expect, but this certainly wasn't it.

The officer seemed to be studying him with his dark brown eyes.

"This the Jackson residence?" He asked, his voiced sounding southern, like he was from New Orleans or Savannah.

Percy didn't know what to think. All he could say was one word: "Yes."

"Yes sir will do, boy." The officer sneered. "Where's your parents?"

"I- I don't know. I don't know where my mom is."

"You don't, do you? I'll give you another chance to answer that."

Percy narrowed his eyes, now even more confused. "I told you, I don't know."

"What about your dad?" The cop seemed to be trying to hide a smirk.

Percy looked down at the floor. He wished this guy would stop asking questions. "Can you please just tell me what's happening?"

"I think you know well what's happening," he said, raising an eyebrow. "I think you know better than any of us. Now come on, boy. We're not finished here yet."

AaAaAaAaAa

Five cop cars were waiting for them outside. About ten men were standing around with little notepads, quickly jotting down notes and having rushed conversations with each other. Curious people around them stared at the scene, wondering what was going on, just like Percy.

The largest cop rushed over to Percy and the skinny officer. He had huge muscles, black hair and an intimidating scowl.

"This him?" He asked the other officer, pointing to Percy.

"Can you tell me-"

"Quite, boy! You already in enough trouble."

"B-but _why_?" Percy stuttered.

The larger cop's gaze became piercing, before he turned his attention back to the other cop. "His trial won't be for a while. We'll have to keep him for a while, the no good murderer."

Trail. Keep him.*

Murderer.

Percy felt like breaking down to the ground and crying. This wasn't right. This wasn't right and the cops _had to know that._ They had to know that no matter what they thought, they were wrong. They couldn't be right.

The skinny cop looked down at Percy, seemingly wanting to comfort him.

"Oh, stop, Roy!" The other one said. "Don't show him no pity."

He eyed Percy, a look of disgust taking over his face. But it wasn't just disgust.

It was conspiracy. Like something he had been planning for years was finally in action.

"He don't deserve none."

 _I do. Please, I do._

The other cops were waving away the curious bystanders, who were apparently getting to close for their liking.

They all left.

Except two. His best friend and the most popular girl in school.

And they looked frantic.


	3. Chapter 3

For Nico, the day had only gotten stranger.

When he had gotten home to nothing, he was confused. When Cindy showed up, eyes glowing that vibrant red, he was terrified.

She had explained absolutely nothing. She just led him through the city, whispering.

 _They found you._

 _They know._

 _They will hurt you._

And everyone's favorite:

 _They will kill you._

Nico could hardly think. This day had been a mess. When Nico realised they were on the way to Percy's house, he felt a little better. But when he saw the cop cars outside his building, and Percy being led to one of them, he was just confused again.

Cindy's body tensed, and her eyes changed from bright red to a dazzling blue. Suddenly, the cops seemed dazed and confused.

"No..." A skinny one with brown hair said to the others. "Wrong kid..." The other cops nodded.

"Yes. Wrong kid." Nico turned to look at Cindy. Her eyes were back to red, but she seemed to have calmed down a bit.

"We have about a minute," she whispered to Nico. "I can only do so much."

 _How can she even do anything?_ Nico wondered.

"We have to get home!" Cindy suddenly yelled, walking towards Percy. "We're late for dinner!"

Her eyes had changed to a natural blue as she looked at the cop that had been leading Percy to the car.

"I'm sorry about my brother," she said to the cop, taking Percy's arm. "He's just confused."

 _Isn't that the truth?_

"I'll take him right home," She told the cops with a smile. Not a clever or devious one, but promising.

And soon Nico and Percy were following her to who knows where.

AaAaAaAaAa

"We need to get far away from here. Not too far, but far."

Nico and Percy sprinted to keep up with her.

"What the hell is happening! And who are you!?" Nico demanded.

Cindy's eyes blazed brighter than ever. She suddenly stopped, rounding on Nico.

"Do you want to die?"

Nico felt his heart stop. "N-no..."

"Then come with me," she began running again.

But what if I don't want to? What if I just want to go home and see my mom and Bianca?

What if I just want to know what's going on?

"In time," her eyes were still red, but more pinkish and not blazing. "In time."

Who is this kid?

"Let's just let you two rest for now."

AaAaAaAaAa

It wasn't real sleep, more like half and half. One portion of his mind was very alert, making out all the things going on around him, while another portion was out cold.

"They can't know yet. They're just kids!" a male voice shouted. With each word, Nico became more and more tired, like he was a baby listening to a lullaby.

"Yeah, they're just kids! They would be in even more danger if they didn't know!" another voice said.

Nico heard a sigh, "Let them enjoy their childhood, if we can even call it that. Have a heart, won't you?"

The response that followed was so muffled that Nico had no clue what had been said. Instead of trying to figure it out, he let the sleep take over, falling into a very peaceful slumber.

When Nico woke up, he found himself in a red sleeping bag next to Percy, who was awake but lying down like he was still tired. The floor was a cold, cracking tile and the walls were a bland white color.

"Isn't it just lovely?" A voice said, and Nico turned to see a girl with long blonde hair and gray eyes, who looked about their age.

"It used to be a middle school, back in the 90's."

Sure enough, Nico saw an old white board where markers and erasers still sat, waiting to be used. An abandoned desk sat in the corner, with very unimpressive graffiti sprayed on the front that read "Connor" in green letters. He wanted to throw up. Of all the places he could end up, a school.

"Why- what's-?" Nico tried to speak, but failed.

The girl frowned. "I'm not supposed to tell you anything, but I think you should at least know..." She trailed off, digging in her pocket.

"I can't tell you much, I'll get in trouble," she said, voice indicating she wasn't worried about that at all.

"This," she said, unfolding a small piece of paper with a picture of rubble and destroyed buildings, dirt and debris floating through the air. "Was Camp Half-blood."

 **There's the next chapter! Please review.**


	4. Chapter 4

The girl, who had introduced herself as Annabeth, stared down at the photo, a look of intense pain and sadness in her eyes. She pointed her gazed at Nico and Percy, taking in their looks of confusion.

Her voice broke with sobs as she spoke. "It- it was home. For all of us. F-for everyone here."

Nico suddenly felt a share feeling of empathy for her. He wondered what she had been through that made her so broken.

"I'm sorry I'm so...emotional," she said.

"Oh, no. No, it's fine," Nico said. "You're fine."

Annabeth leaned against the black board. "We have some other new people, too," she said, abruptly changing the subject. "Leo, Piper, and Jason, I think. They just told them."

Percy and Nico glanced at each other. An unreadable message was conveyed with their eyes- one of complete confusion.

"Told them what?" Nico asked.

Annabeth paused before saying,"I've told you enough already. Reyna will want to talk to you. Follow me."

"Who's Rey-"

Annabeth's intense look cut Nico off. "You'll see."

And the three walked out of the room.

AaAaAaAa

Nico's mind wondered as they walked down the halls of the abandoned school. How couldn't it, after all that had happened. Questions buzzed around in his head. Where were they? Who were the other newcomers? Who was Reyna?

Could they trust any of them?

Nico noticed Percy staring blankly at the ground as they walked. He had a concerned look in his eyes.

Nico found himself looking at his surroundings. Lockers lined the hall. A single opened book bag lay abandoned on the floor. Nico could see notebooks and binders protruding from inside of it. Some of the lockers were opened, revealing jackets and gym clothes stuffed inside.

Nico decided now would be a good time to speak.

"What's with this? It's like school was in session, then, proof, everyone just...disappeared."

She smiled at his question.

"It's the ghosts, of course."

Percy's eyes widened, but Nico felt suddenly interested. Ghosts and the supernatural had always fascinated him.

"The ghosts?" he asked, excitedly.

"Yeah," she said. "You know, a ghost. When one of us dies."

PERCY POV:

Reyna was not the type of person Percy would want to spend to much time with. No offense to her, but she came off as the overly serious and controlling type.

"Have a seat," she said. She sat behind the principle's desk that was still there in the office. Percy and Nico sat in two chairs in front of the desk, like they were school kids in trouble.

"Annabeth, leave us for now," Reyna said. Annabeth quickly shuffled out of the room.

"You too, Grover."

Some weird human-animal hybrid thing that had been standing behind the desk nodded. "Sure thing, RARA."

Percy stared at him as he trotted out, wondering what he was and what a RARA was. Percy noticed Reyna's face become red.

It quickly returned to normal. She did her best to smile at them, but Percy could tell she was too pained to do so convincingly.

"Welcome," she said.

"Ok, can you just cut to the chase? What is this place?" Nico asked.

Reyna looked at him. "I'm getting there. But first let me tell you- we are not a gang."

She paused, sizing them up. Percy and Nico waited eagerly for her to keep going.

"That's just what the people think."

"Don't they ever call the cops, then? If they think you are a gang?"

Her eyes narrowed dangerously.

"That's what the Hecate kids are for."

"The what kids?" Percy squinted his eyes in confusion.

"As I said, I'm getting to all of that! We are not a gang- we are a group. Just an innocent group that has to fight to stay alive. We all have three things in common, each and every one of us."

"And that is?"

Reyna's eyes filled with sadness, among other things. Hope, longing.

"Loss. That's one. A great deal of loss, a great deal of sacrifice."

Percy and Nico waited.

"We're all hiding. That's the second. Though I wouldn't call it hiding. They know where we are, so we stopped moving places. Actually, they don't know we're here yet, but they will. We used to hide in an old hospital, then a run down gas station, they found us both times. So we stopped."

"Wait- who is they?"

"Getting to that. Anyways, they attacked our homes- these two camps. Our safe places. So many of us died," her eyes were clouded in sadness.

"So we who remained where left to fend for ourselves- to stay away from them and the monsters they sent after us. We don't think we'll move again- there's just no point."

"But who is 'they'?" Nico nearly shouted.

Reyna eyed him seriously.

"The police."

AaAaAaAaAa

 **Ok. So I'm back. It's been a while. Anyways, thanks for reading! What do you think will happen next? Please leave a reveiw!**


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